rh71
No Lifer
I'm so sick of hearing about the "suspects" living while the innocents die in auto accidents... :| :| :|
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- The mother of Washington Capitals forward Jeff Halpern
was one of four people killed in a fiery crash with a fuel tanker.
Gloria Halpern, 56, of Potomac, Md., was in a car that was crushed when the
fuel tanker flipped over Friday night, the Capitals said. Relatives said her
brother Alan Klein, 52, his wife Debbie Klein, 49, both of Cherry Hill,
N.J., and Anita Epstein also were killed.
The driver's side of the truck flipped onto the car, and both vehicles slid
along a guardrail beside the Interstate 595 ramp to Florida's Turnpike until
sparks ignited the fuel, investigators and witnesses said.
Halpern had been in Coconut Creek caring for her ailing father, and the
Kleins flew in Friday to relieve her.
Jeff Halpern has been playing for the Kloten Flyers in the Swiss Elite
League during the NHL lockout. His mother was active in the Capitals' youth
hockey program.
``Everyone in the Capitals family will truly miss Gloria. She was a longtime
fan and part of the fabric of the hockey community,'' team president Dick
Patrick said in a statement.
Flavio Santisteban, who had just filled his 9,000-gallon tanker at nearly
Port Everglades, was hospitalized in fair condition after he and one of the
car's victims jumped into a nearby pond in flames. No charges have been
filed, but the investigation is ongoing.
Records showed that the Floval Oil driver has received at least 10 traffic
citations since 2002. The latest was a traffic stop for speeding Dec. 4.
Motorist Maria Thompson said the truck cut her off and was speeding on the
ramp before toppling. She said she backed her car off the blocked ramp to
get clear.
Rescue crews stayed away for two hours from the intense fire, punctuated by
explosions as flames climbed 30 feet in the air.